Universally-directed, closure-supported, gravity-catch, self-energizing, diagonal pocket apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A pocket may be applied to an article of clothing, particularly upper body clothing such as a shirt, blouse, jacket, coat, scrubs, t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, or the like. The pocket is oriented at an angle with respect to horizontal (nominal) or vertical (upright) to improve retention of a contained object such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant. A return is formed by stitching a partial closure along one side of the pocket, positioned at the lowest “upper” corner of the pocket (upper meaning opening end), closest to the center line of the article of clothing, on either the right or left. Knit fabrics work particularly well for retaining a weighted object such as a mobile phone despite various user movements leaning to one side or the other, forward, and even bent double whereby rendering the article of clothing in an upside down orientation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 29/439,480, filed on Dec. 11, 2012, entitled SHIRT WITHDIAGONAL POCKET, which is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/426,255, filed on Jul. 2, 2012, entitled SHIRTWITH DIAGONAL POCKET, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/399,313, filed on Aug. 11, 2011, entitled SHIRTWITH DIAGONAL POCKET, now U.S. Pat. No. D662,688. All the foregoingreferences are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to clothing and, more particularly, to novelsystems and methods for designing, locating, and creating pockets forshirts and blouses.

2. Background Art

Clothing designs have developed over centuries, even millennia. Clothingin western civilization today relies on shirts and blouses for the upperbody, along with trousers or skirts for the lower body, in variousdesigns. Suits and dresses are also ubiquitous. A fixture in manyarticles of clothing for the upper body, such as jackets, shirts,blouses, and so forth is the breast pocket.

Meanwhile, ubiquitous hand-held electronic devices continue to searchfor a home. Teenagers carry cell phones in trouser front pockets andback pockets, shirt pockets, jacket pockets, cases, on lanyards, and invarious other ways. A certain demographic relies on holsters attached towaist bands or belts.

A wide spread problem for pockets on upper body clothing articles isleaning. It is not uncommon, in fact highly common, for an individualwho leans over or bends over for any reason to clutch at the breastpocket of the shirt in order to prevent pens, cards, cell phones, orother articles in the pocket from falling out onto the ground.

As any weight of an article within a pocket tends to pull the pocketoutward and away from the body or torso of the clothing article (e.g.,shirt, blouse, etc.), any excess fabric surrounding the torso of thewearer becomes slack, falls forward, following the weight in the pocket,and thus provides an even greater reduction of any gripping or retainingcapacity of the pocket. To solve this problem, much active wear includesa button and button hole, a button and flap, a hook-and-loop fastenercombination on a pocket flap, or the like. For items that are not to befrequently retrieved from and replaced in a pocket, such mechanismsserve well. Mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and the like donot fit well in that category.

What is needed is a pocket suitable for retaining a personal electronicdevice, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, or the like withoutadditional closing mechanisms or seals. It would be a further advance inthe art if such a system were readily accessible, operatedautomatically, was resistant to substantially all motions or alldirections of motion. By resistant is not meant that a system shouldresist the motion of the user, but that such a system should resist theloss of contents of a pocket during motions such as bending over to liftan object or to pick up an article, leaning sideways in a worksituation, or the like.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, in accordance with the invention as embodiedand broadly described herein, a method and apparatus are disclosed inone embodiment of the present invention as including a shirt, blouse, orother article of upper body clothing that includes a body or torsoportion, and may be provided with sleeves. Typically, a collar openingwill accommodate the neck of a user, and a lower opening willaccommodate the torso. Such a shirt, blouse, or other article willtypically have a lower hem or lower edge that may represent a shirttail, but may be cut at a straight angle across in order to be wornoutside of the waistband of trousers, skirt, or the like.

In some embodiments, such articles of clothing may have an opening downthe front, which may be closed with buttons. It may extend a shortdistance of several inches (centimeters) down from the collar opening,or may extend all the way to the lower hem, such as a fullybuttoned-down shirt. Nevertheless, some shirts have only a shortbuttoned region (e.g., golf shirt) and others have no button opening(e.g., t-shirts, pullovers, etc.).

In one embodiment of an apparatus and method in accordance with theinvention, a pocket may be spaced selected distances from the collar andthe shoulder line or shoulder seam corresponding to the shoulder of aclothing article. Meanwhile, the pocket may also be spaced a specifieddistance from an outer edge, such as the beginning of a sleeve. Incertain presently contemplated embodiments, the pocket is angled awayfrom the vertical at an angle of from about 34 to 56 degrees. An angleof about 45 degrees proves to be a suitable target angle. The pocket maybe slightly more vertical or less vertical, as desired. Nevertheless, anangle of about 45 degrees has been found suitable. Nevertheless, it hasbeen found also properly functional to vary that angle up to about 11degrees in either direction.

A functional feature of a pocket in accordance with the invention is areturn, which is formed by a seam extending across the opening of thepocket near the lower edge thereof. Typically, the fabric of a t-shirt,golf shirt, or the like may be formed of a knit fabric, having a certainability to stretch. Moreover, as such material is stretched in onedimension, it will typically shrink in an orthogonal direction.

In one embodiment, a pocket may be tilted at 45 degrees from vertical,with the opening dropping down from the original, conventional uppermostposition to turn inward toward the neck of a user and downward.Typically, the return will be formed by a seam at the lower edge of thepocket, and close a portion of the pocket from about ¼ inch to about ¾of an inch. A return of about ½ inch has been found suitable.

Meanwhile, the length of the pocket may be larger or smaller thanconventional pockets. In one embodiment, the length of the pocket or theheight is about the same as a conventional shirt pocket. However, it hasbeen found suitable to narrow the width of the pockets slightly. Thus,the pocket will tend to be more snug about any carried object, such as amobile phone.

It has been found effective to position the pocket within a matter ofinches of the shoulder line of a clothing article. For example, thelower corner on the upper opening of a pocket is typically about 6inches from the shoulder seam in an adult article of clothing.

Meanwhile, the opposite upper corner is typically about 3 inches fromthe shoulder seam. It has been found effective to place the pocket overthe top of the pectoral muscle, and toward the upper portion thereof.There is a natural swale or hollow formed between the shoulder and thepectoral muscles that provides a convenient location for a pocket inaccordance with the invention.

Such a pocket may be sewn onto t-shirts, jogging clothing, athleticwear, sweat shirts, hoodies, jump suits, medical scrubs, dress shirts,sports shirts, golf shirts, jackets, and the like. Typically, regardlessof the position taken by a user, the return (area enclosed on two sidesnear an upper inside corner of a pocket) tends to retain any containedobject by a naturally occurring stress or restraint existing betweenthat corner of the pocket and the edge of the opposite side, including acorner diagonally opposite the pocket.

By placement above the pectoral muscle and closer to the neck, shoulder,and sleeve of an article of clothing, the article provides much bettersupport for the weight of the object (e.g., mobile phone, personaldigital assistant, personal digital device, tool, instrument, etc.) thanother shirt designs.

For example, by capturing the upper portion of the pocket in the regionbounded by the neck, collar, or the like, on the inside, with thesleeves seam opposite on the outside, and the shoulder seam thereabove,great stability is provided to the pocket, without sagging. This is incontradistinction to conventional shirts where weight in a breast pockettends to shift the fabric and create an undesirable sagging appearance.In fact, some manufacturers of dress shirts provide no breast pocket inorder to avoid that uneven, sagging appearance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of the present invention will become more fullyapparent from the following description and appended claims, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are,therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the inventionwill be described with additional specificity and detail through use ofthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatusand method, embodied as an article of clothing in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view thereof, inverted (upside downorientation);

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a pocket in accordance with theinvention embodied in a shirt, with the pocket on the left side, and theshirt leaning to the right as a user would move;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view thereof, with the shirt tilted to theright to be fully horizontally oriented;

FIG. 8 is a left side elevation view of this embodiment, with the shirttilted fully forward to a horizontal orientation;

FIG. 9 is a left side elevation view of a pocket on an article ofclothing in accordance with the invention with the clothing and userbent almost double orienting the pocket upside down;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of a left side pocket of an article ofclothing wherein a user is leaning to the right at about half a rightangle;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of a pocket on an article of clothingin accordance with the invention wherein a user has a pocket on theright side of the article of clothing

FIG. 11 is a front elevation view thereof, wherein a right pocket ispositioned on an article of clothing by a user where the user is bentcompletely double, orienting the article of clothing and the pocketcompletely upside down;

FIG. 12 is a detail of the pocket of FIG. 6, the pocket on the left side(from wearer's point of view) of the shirt, with the return seam on theright side of the pocket, and the shirt is tilted far to the right(e.g., horizontal) as when a user is leaning to the right;

FIG. 13 is a front elevation view of a pocket sewn onto the right side(from wearer's point of view) of a shirt, thus with the return seam onthe left of the pocket, and the shirt oriented as if a user were tiltedfar sideways ( horizontal) toward the wearer's left side;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of the pocket and shirt of FIG. 12,with the pocket and shirt tilted fully upside down from the uprightwearer configuration;

FIG. 15 is a front elevation view of the pocket and shirt of FIG. 13,with the pocket and shirt tilted fully upside down from the uprightwearer configuration;

FIG. 16 is an front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of anarticle of clothing having a pocket installed therein;

FIG. 17 is a left elevation view thereof;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an article of clothing, hospitalscrubs, having a pocket installed therein in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 19 is a left side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of anarticle of clothing having a pocket in accordance with the invention;and

FIG. 21 is a left side elevation view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentinvention, as generally described and illustrated in the drawingsherein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of theembodiments of the system and method of the present invention, asrepresented in the drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention, as claimed, but is merely representative of variousembodiments of the invention. The illustrated embodiments of theinvention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, whereinlike parts are designated by like numerals throughout.

Referring to FIG. 1, while referring generally to FIGS. 1 through 18, anarticle 10 may be embodied as an article of clothing 10 such as a shirt10, blouse 10, jacket 10, or the like. Typically, the article ofclothing 10 will have a body 12 that is effectively the portion 12 thatsurrounds the torso of an individual.

Typically, at the upper extremity of the body portion 12 on the article10 is a neck opening 13 a. Opposite, at the lower end of the article 10and specifically the body 12, is a lower edge 13 b or lower opening 13 bthat forms the tail 13 b or bottom 13 b of the article of clothing 10.Typically, the tail 13 b may be cut as a conventional shirt tail, or maybe cut at a horizontal angle and seamed or hemmed in order to besuitable for wearing outside of a lower article of clothing, such astrousers or a skirt.

Sleeves 14 are indicated here by sleeves 14 a, 14 b. In every instance,a trailing letter simply indicates a specific instance of an itemidentified by the reference numeral. Therefore, herein it is proper tospeak of any item by its reference numeral alone, and in any specificinstance by its reference numeral and trailing letter.

Although it may vary in position, a sleeve seam 15 will exist in mostfabricated articles 10 of clothing. Similarly, a shoulder seam 17 willtypically exist to connect a front portion of the main body 12 to a rearportion thereof. Similarly, along the edges 34 a, 34 b will typically bea side seam. The side seams 34 a, 34 b or edges 34 b are typicallyopened up in order to accommodate the arm opening created by a sleeve 14a, 14 b, respectively, thereby securing each sleeve 14 a, 14 b to thebody 12 along a respective seam 15.

A collar 16 may surround the neck opening 13 a and may be any of severaltypes. For example, a T-shirt will typically have a knit collar that iscompletely closed. A golf shirt 10 or sporting shirt 10 may include anopening 18 or strip 18 that may be opened or closed by means of buttons19.

A pocket 20 may be positioned in any suitable location on the article10. Nevertheless, a particular concern has been the inability of abreast pocket on an article 10 of clothing to retain objects, andparticularly heavier objects such as mobile phones and personal digitalassistants or other instruments, when a user is leaning forward, or toone side or the other. Accordingly, a pocket 20 in accordance with theinvention is tilted or canted off the typical vertical orientation. Inthe illustrated embodiment, a pocket 20 in accordance with the inventionmay be tilted at a suitable angle and positioned with distances 21 a, 21b, 21 c, 21 d defining its location and support.

For example, the distance 21 a may be thought of as the distance fromthe pocket 20 to a sleeve seam 34 a or a left edge 34 a of the clothingarticle 10. The distance 21 b may be thought of as the distance that thepocket 20 is translated from the lower edge of the sleeve attachment orthe armpit of the article 10 of clothing.

The distance 21 c may be thought of as the uppermost extremity of thepocket 20 spaced away from the sleeve seam or the left side 34 a of thearticle 10. Likewise, the distance 21 d may be thought of as thedistance of the uppermost extremity of the pocket 20 away from ashoulder seam or the uppermost reach of the shoulder of the article 10of clothing. These distances may be measured instead from the centerline of a neck opening 36, collar 16, or the like. However, thesedistances are selected in order to position the pocket 20 above thepectoral muscle, and toward the upper reaches thereof in order to keepit well supported by the neck, sleeve, and shoulder of the clothingarticle 10. A return seam 22 is sewn into the pocket 20.

In the illustrated embodiment, the upper corner 23 d is typicallypositioned sufficiently close to the side seam 34, neck 36, and theshoulder seam 17 to provide excellent support and stability for thepocket 20 and whatever electronic instrument or other article 40 may becontained therein. Similarly, the return corner 23 a and the diagonallyopposite corner 23 c are typically positioned sufficiently close to thevertical center line and the neck 36 of the clothing article 10 and thesleeve seam 15 of the clothing article 10 to maintain tension in mostcircumstances and sufficient support by the respective shoulder seam 17thereabove.

For example, the pocket 20 is tilted at an angle 24 with respect tohorizontal. This angle has a value typically of from about 34 to about56 degrees. A target position may be about 45 degrees within a degree ortwo. Thus, a 45 degree target angle or a 46 degree target angle has beenfound suitable. Nevertheless, the system operates well within the rangeof from about 34 degrees to about 56 degrees.

In certain embodiments, a width 26 of the pocket 20 may be selected tocorrespond better with the size and shape of an article 40 such as amobile phone, personal digital assistant, electronic instrument,notebook, or the like that will typically be carried in a pocket 20.

For instance, it has been found that a narrowing of the width 26compared to the conventional width of a shirt breast pocket servesbetter to retain a carried article inside the pocket 20 below the returnseam 22. Likewise, by having a width 26 narrower than is customary inconventional design, the corners 23 c, 23 d urge the contained article40 toward the opposite corners 23 a, 23 b, thus rendering the returnseam 22 much more effective in maintaining a corner or edge of thecontained article 40 inside the pocket 20.

The length 28 or depth 28 of the pocket 20 may be adjusted to meettypical sizes of articles that may be carried. For example, smartphoneshave largely settled out on a few standardized sizes. The length of thereturn seam 22 may be selected to actually close somewhat the opening 30of the pocket 20. When knit fabrics are the material of choice in aclothing article 10, with its associated pocket 20, then the opening 30may actually be smaller than the circumference of the contained article40.

Thus, gripping the article with fingers and drawing it out of theopening 30 of the pocket 20 will tend to stretch the knit fabric aroundthe circumference of the opening 30, thus releasing the containedobject. Nevertheless, inadvertent dropping of such an article from thepocket 20 through the opening 30 will be rendered very rare, and nearlyimpossible in certain embodiments.

For example, if the amount of force required to stretch the opening 30sufficiently to release the contained object 40 from the pocket 20, hasa value greater than the weight of that object, then the return seam 23a will retain the object in substantially all orientations, absent somejolt or excessive force.

In certain embodiments, a user may also push on the pocket 20 near thecorner 23 b, in order to urge an article out through the opening 30.Thus, just as gripping a smartphone, for example, between thumb andforefinger at the opening 30, an appropriate force of pushing at thecorner 23 b may likewise move a portion of the contained article 40 outof the opening 30 for retrieval and use.

The bottom 32 of the pocket 20 will typically restrain and contain anarticle 40. Similarly, the seam in securing the pocket 20 between thecorners 23 a, 23 b will likewise support a major portion of the weightof the contained article 40. Nevertheless, the seam of the pocket 20extending between the corners 23 c and 23 d will likewise providesupport, as will the underlying fabric in the body 12 of the clothingarticle 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the fit of the clothing article 10 aboutthe torso of a user will tend to maintain tension within the body 12 ofthe clothing article 10, as well as in the pocket 20 itself. Tension inthe pocket 20 will tend to flatten it against the body 12 of theclothing article 10, thus making the return seam 22 even more effectiveat maintaining the opening 30 as a closed slit 30.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, one may see that the pocket 20 inaccordance with the invention is well supported closer to the sleeves 15and the shoulder seams 17 than conventional pockets Likewise, thecorners 23 a, 23 b, 23 c form a stable geometry for holding a containedarticle 40. For example, a conventional pocket that would have acomparative width 26 wider than the pocket 20 illustrated (largerwidth-to-length aspect ratio) would not fit a contained article 40 assnuggly. It thus would tend to distort more easily, open more readily,and provide less restraint for the contained article 40. Here, not onlythe overall dimensions 26, 28, but also the orientation of the corner 23b as the lowest portion of the pocket 20, all promote stable retentionof the contained article 40.

Referring to FIGS. 5 through 8, while continuing to refer generally toFIGS. 1 through 18, a clothing article 10 is shown in variousorientations. These are orientations in which a clothing article 10 maybe placed during the movements of an individual. For example, a workeror a person involved in physical activities, recreation, labor, or thelike, may move to various positions. Illustrated are exampled ofpositions that the torso of a user, and thus the clothing article 10 maytake.

Referring to FIG. 5, a pocket 20 positioned on the left side of aclothing article 10 may be exposed to leaning toward the right. In theillustrated example, the return seam 22 is best positioned closest tothe vertical center line of the body of a user or the vertical centerline of the clothing article 10. Accordingly, with the clothing article10 in the illustrated position, there is no effective tendency of thecontained article 40 to leave the pocket 20.

In fact, the contained article 40 is captured between the corners 23 b,23 c and the corner 23 a where the return seam 22 forms a containmentbarrier 22. Of course, the pocket 20 may be positioned in a minor imageposition (about the vertical center line) on the right side of theclothing article 10. Accordingly, an individual may lean to the right orthe left. In the illustrated embodiment, the user is leaning atapproximately a 45 degree angle with respect to the vertical (e.g.,standing, vertical).

Referring to FIG. 6, a clothing article 10 is shown, this time with thepocket 20 on the right side, although it could be a minor image on theleft side. In this embodiment, a user orientation is leaning such thatthe pocket 20 has been rotated to approximately a right angle from itsnormal vertical orientation of the clothing article 10. In thisembodiment, the opening 30 of the pocket 20 is rotated effectively 90degrees.

Instead of being angled upward and toward the inside, it is angleddownward at about the same angle that it was upward. In this instance,the return seam 22 is responsible to resist exit of the containedarticle 40. Here, the corner 23 a forms the vertex of a containmentpocket 20 created by the seam of the pocket 20 between the corners 23 aand 23 b, and the return seam 22.

Moreover, in this example, the opposite corner 23 c tends to act withthe weight of the contained article 40 to push the contained article 40toward the corner 23 a, thus, the article would require being liftedtoward the opening 30 before it could exit of its own weight. Again,with the proper selection of the width 26 of the pocket 20, the seamrunning between the corners 23 c and 23 d would also tend to urge thecontained article 40 against the opposite side of the pocket 20 and intothe cavity created at the corner 23 a by the return seam 22.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is extremely common for users to bend forward.In the illustrated example, the pocket 20 is positioned approximately ina horizontal plane. As a practical matter, the shape of the human bodyis such that the opening 30 will actually be positioned in a downwardorientation toward the center line of the person and clothing article 10and downward as to the opening 30 of the pocket 20. In this embodiment,just as in the foregoing Figures, the return seam 22 forms a vertex atthe corner 23 a to contain a corner of the contained article 40. Thus,the urging of gravity tends to bring the contained article 40 moreforcefully into that corner 23 a, where it may be retained. Again, theurging of the diagonally opposite corner 23 c as well as that of theseam extending between the corner 23 c and the corner 23 d also tend tomaintain the contained article 40 within the confinement of the corner23 a.

Referring to FIG. 8, a user may actually bend over almost double orfully double. Typically, when one reaches for a dropped writinginstrument, such as a pencil or pen, a dropped paper, or the like, onemay bend at an angle such that the pocket 20 approaches an orientationof upside down. Again, in this instance, the majority of the load of thecontained article 40 will rest directly against the corner 23 a, andspecifically be restrained by the return seam 22. This is a situationwhere the value of a comparatively narrower width 26 (and thus W/Laspect ratio) for the pocket 20 may assure that the contained article 40cannot exit out the opening 30.

In certain weaves of fabric, where there is little or no resilience orstretching of the fabric. This fabric with the pocket in an upside downposition would yield the most extreme likelihood for releasing thecontained article 40. However, even this situation is helped by a properselection of the width 26, the geometry of a pocket 20. Two flat panels(body 12 and pocket 20) sewn together will tend to be expanded by thecontained article 40. By providing little clearance they urge thecontained article 40 to rest in the corner 23 a against the edge seamand the return seam 22.

Referring to FIGS. 9 through 12, various orientations of pockets 20 areillustrated. These represent pockets 20 positioned on both right andleft sides of a clothing article 10, and tilted in various directions.

Referring to FIG. 9, a left side pocket 20 on a clothing article 10, andspecifically secured to the body 12 thereof is leaning to the right atabout a 45 degree angle. Accordingly, one may see that the return seam22 provides the corner 23 a with an effective containment of thecontained article 40. Meanwhile, tension 38 along the axial direction orthe length 28 of the pocket 20 tends to keep the article against thereturn seam 22.

Meanwhile, tension 39 across the width 26 of the pocket 20 tends to urgethe contained article 40 against the opposite seam extending between thecorners 23 a, 23 b. Effectively, a net tension 42 exists in a diagonaldirection from the corner 23 a to the corner 23 c. Tension tends to urgethe pocket 20 and the body 12 of the clothing article 10 to flatten theoverall cavity created therebetween, thus urging the contained article40 to stay positioned inside.

Likewise, the length of the return seam 22 may be selected in order torequire stretching of the opening 30 in order to permit the containedarticle 40 to be extracted. In other embodiments, the length of thereturn seam 22 may simply be selected in order to create a sufficientlylarge pocket area (cavity) at the corner 23 a to receive easily andresist exit by, the contained article 40.

Referring to FIG. 10, a right pocket 20 leaning at about a right angletoward the left has the same difficulties, exacerbated compared to thoseof the foregoing illustration. Here, the restraint of the return seam 22again restrains the contained article 40 against exiting.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the worst condition and most likely torelease the contained article 40 from the pocket 20 is illustrated. Inthese embodiments, a left pocket 20 and a right pocket 20, respectively,are illustrated in a fully upside down orientation. That is, with a userwearing a clothing article 10 and standing upright, the corner 23 d isthe highest corner 23 of the pocket 20. In these illustratedembodiments, or orientations, the corner 23 d is the lowest. Thus, thereturn seam 23 is operating at its least effective orientation.

For example, the contained article 40 may move downward and sidewaysalong the direction of the return seam 22, thereby moving a largerproportion thereof toward the opening 30 of the pocket 20. If the width26 of the pocket 20, and specifically the dimension of the opening 30 issufficiently open, a contained article 40 could slide out. However, thereturn seam 22 is engaged to turn the article 40 and catch a corner ofit.

In many embodiments, particularly where knit fabrics are involved, theopening 30 is sized by the return seam 22 to be slightly less than thewidth dimension of the contained article 40. In this way, the containedarticle 40 can be restrained against exiting the pocket 20 absentsufficient force in a proper direction to extract the contained article40.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, an alternative embodiment of a clothingarticle 10 may have no sleeve at all. Likewise, with lower U-shapednecks 13 a, the pocket 20 may need to be positioned at a suitablelocation. Nevertheless, it has been found effective to place the pocket20 sufficiently close to the shoulder of a user to provide maximumsupport, and the necessary tensions 38, 39, 42 in order to retain thecontained article 40 within the pocket 20.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, hospital scrubs 10 typically have alocation of the neck opening 13 a and its associated collar 16 to boundpocket locations. It has been found effective to position the corner 23d as with other embodiments in a range of from about 4 to about 7inches, and preferably a target of about 6 inches from a shoulder seam17 or the shoulder edge 17 of a clothing article 10. Meanwhile, mostscrubs 10 are formed of fabrics that are not knit, but tend to drapeeasily, and are typically oversized for the torso of a user.

Care should be taken in sizing a pocket 20 for such fabrics in order toprovide access, but restraint. Typically, in such embodiments, theopening 30 may be sized closer to the circumference of the containedarticle 40. Meanwhile, the return seam 22 may be somewhat longer, thusproviding a larger, V-shaped corner 23 a in which to contain thecontained article 40.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, a T-shirt or other knit outerwear mayinclude a knit rib collar 16, which may be worn in a U-shapedconfiguration or a V-shaped configuration. This may affect the suitablelocation for the pocket 20. Typically, however, the neck portion 13 a orcollar 16 as well as the shoulder edge 17 and the sleeve seam 15 are allin close proximity. All tend to maintain the tension 38, 39, 42 andretain the contained article 40. Again, with knit fabrics, more libertyis available for making the opening 30 smaller than the containedarticle 40 when the tensions 38, 39, 42 are at their minimum. Thus,absent urging of force by a user, the contained article 40 will notexit.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its purposes, functions, structures, or operationalcharacteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in allrespects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of theinvention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather thanby the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaningand range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within theirscope.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:
 1. An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a verticaldirection, having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt inuse on a standing wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising: a torsoportion extending from a bottom boundary upward; a collar portionsurrounding a neck opening positioned above the torso portion; ashoulder portion above the torso portion, proximate an upper extremitythereof; the shoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of theshirt and laterally between the collar portion and the arm opening; anda pocket, mounted to the shoulder portion and having an openingproximate an upper end thereof and positioned between the collar portionand the arm opening.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pocket hasa base seam, and side seams extending between the opening and the baseseam, the pocket being tilted off-axis, with respect to the verticaldirection, to position the opening higher than the base seam but notdirectly thereabove in the vertical direction.
 3. The apparatus of claim2, wherein the pocket is oriented to have the opening closer to thecollar portion and the base seam closer to the arm opening.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of fromabout 35 to about 55 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. 5.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle offrom about 40 to about 50 degrees.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, whereinthe pocket is canted at an angle of about 45 degrees.
 7. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein the pocket further comprises a return seam partiallyclosing the opening.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the returnseam is parallel to the base seam.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, whereinthe return seam extends from a first of the side seams, closest to thecollar portion, toward a second side seam, opposite the first side seam,a distance selected to resist falling of an object from the pocket whenthe shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the return seam extends a distance of fromabout one quarter inch to about one inch from the first side seam. 11.An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a vertical direction,having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt in use on astanding wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising: a torso portionextending from a bottom boundary upward; a collar portion surrounding aneck opening positioned above the torso portion; a shoulder portionabove the torso portion, proximate an upper extremity thereof; theshoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of the shirt andlaterally between the collar portion and the arm opening; a pocket,mounted to the shoulder portion and having an opening at an upperextremity thereof between the collar portion and the arm opening; andthe pocket, secured by a base seam and first and second side seamsextending between the opening and the base seam, the pocket beingopposite the base seam.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein thepocket is canted with respect to the vertical direction to offset theopening away from being directly above the base seam in the verticaldirection.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is orientedto have the opening closer to the collar portion and the base seamcloser to the arm opening.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein thepocket is canted at an angle of from about 35 to about 55 degrees withrespect to the vertical direction.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 40 to about 50degrees.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is canted atan angle of about 45 degrees.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein thepocket further comprises a return seam partially closing the opening.18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the return seam is parallel tothe base seam.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the return seamextends from the first side seam, closest to the collar portion, towardthe second side seam, opposite the first side seam, a distance selectedto resist falling of an object from the pocket when the shirt isoriented away from the nominal orientation.
 20. A method comprising:forming a shirt having a collar portion, arm opening, shoulder portionbetween the collar portion and arm opening, and torso portion extendingfrom the shoulder portion to a lower boundary of the shirt; the formingthe shirt, wherein the shirt defines a nominal orientation thereof whendraped on a user in a standing position; forming a pocket for the shirt,the pocket having an opening portion, a base edge opposite thereto, andfirst and second side edges extending therebetween; positioning thepocket on the shoulder portion; orienting the pocket to be canted toposition the opening comparatively closer to the collar and the baseedge comparatively further from the collar portion; and securing thepocket to the shirt with a base seam securing the base edge, first andsecond side seams corresponding to the first and second side edges, anda return seam partially closing the opening a distance selected toresist falling out through the opening by an object in the pocket whenthe shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.